Improvement in soldering-machines



'2 Sheets-Sheetl. W. D. BR0,0KS & R. GORNALL.

SOLDERING-MACHIINE. N.184,755. Patented Now/.28, 1876.

Wiiiwuaw N. PETERS, PHOTO UTHOGRAPHER, WAsymGTON. D. c;

UNITED WILLIAM D; BROOKS AND RICHARD GORNALL, oF' BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.-

IMP RO 'VE'MENT IN S'OLD E'RINGMACHINES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 184,755, dated November 28, 1876; application filed October 12, 1876. i

, To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that-we, WILLIAM- D. BRooKs and RICHARD GORNALL, of Baltimore, in the county of Baltimore, and State ofi Maryland, haveinvented a new and Improved Machine for SolderingOans and wedo hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexactdescription of the same,refercnce being; had to the accompanying. drawings, iforminga. part of thisspecification Our invention relates to machinery for solderin g the tops and bottomsof cylindrical cans, in accordance with what is knownas the-floating process, and consistsprincipally ofa moving; table, which carries can holders said; holders being madetotilt from a-horizontal' position at onepoint in the movement of thetable, and resume-a hQIi'ZQl lllEtl position, in the other part of that movement. It. consists, further, of details of construction, of greater or'less importance, all of which- I proceed to set forth fully, and to point out particularly.

Prior to' our invention the only successful method of solderingthe tops and bottoms'of cylindrical cans from the inside, so far as we; are aware, has been wholly or mainly by hand. After the side-of thecylindricalpart isseamed,- and the-tops and I bottoms formed, the work'-.. man, in order to solder them in place-holdsthecan in the left hand, betWeen'the-fingers and thumb, I on the edge of a flat cast-iron plate, and at angle of about forty five degrees. This inclination is given the can in order to bring the solder in one mass,:at the seam-,and under the actionof the iron. In' the meantime the can must be rotated in order'that the melted solder may move around through the entire circumference of the can, and thecan must also be pressed to the plate, sot-hat thecylinder may not spring from the-top or bot. tom, as the case may be,,by reason of -theunequal heat. The difiiculty of doing all-this-atonce, and with one hand, is the cause of so manyleaky cans, the parts sometimes separatingin spite of the utmost care of 'the workman, while the can is turned to the solder ing-'iron. The operation is also so difficult that it requires, .for rapid and successful work, experienced and skilled workmen.

It shouldalsebe added,,.in order-thatour invention and its relation to the art maybe more clearly understood that, as soon asthe solder, melted by the heat of the iron, and kept at the seam by the inclination of the can, is carried, by the rotation of the can,to all parts of the joint, the can-must be returned immediately, and while thesolder is still in fluid state, to a vertical position. This 18110116 in order that thesolder may remain uniformly distributed around the seam, and not'f flow to one side, and cool there,asit wouldifthe canshould be allowed to remain in an inclined @position. The care and prompt-Hess required Pforthis-part of the operation also complicate the; whole work, and require the greater skill and experiencein the workman. v The object :at' which we have aimed is to perform as much 1 as possible of these-operations by, machinery to hold, move, and adjustthe can, so as to ileave to the workman only or mainly the manipulation I of the soldering-iron, and there iby make possible theemployment of less :skilled labor,- aswell as greater rapidity and certainty inthe work. 1

In carryingout our invention wehave provided a circular table, which revolves on a cen- ,tra] standard firmlysecured in any suitable ffixed or movable base. ,This table is made ;with radial arms, to the outer ends 0t which Eare pivoted sleeves a, on-axes tangent to the table, so that the said sleeves may tipv outward. These sleeves are represented as pivloted in forked extremities'of the-radial arms, but obviously any'convenient way may be adopted Through these sleeves pass the vertical rods-12,.which sustainthe can-holding mechanism, which will be described in its ,proper order. Directly. below the sleeves a, when said sleevesare in vertical position, is a 'guideway, d,-for the lower ends of thejrods b. .This guideway is, in the larger part of its cirlcuit,.a true circle,.and, through this part, as ithe-table-revolves, the rods b, carried by the sleeves, are held in exactly vertical position. At that point,.however, where the workman istandswho performs the soldering, the guideway is curved inward, as shown at e. The shape of this part ot the way is such that-the ifoot' of each vertical rodis carried; inward until the rod is tiltedto an angle of forty-five degrees, more or less. From the point of extreme i deflection the Wayv inclines,.in the direction of the arrow, as. the rods move, as abruptly as practicable, in order to return as promptly as possible the rods to a vertical position. This,

as will be more fully explained hereinafter,

machine; and when the can is automatically restored to the vertical position, in the manner'explained, the danger of unequal distribution of the solder is also guarded against. The mechanism for rotating the can, when in an inclined position, is shown in Fig. 2. The can rests on a base,f, which may be convenient- 1y made with radial arms g, fixed to a hub, the

said arms being inclined and provided with steps for seating different sizes of cans. These seatsfor the cans we have shown as fixed on the upper ends of the rods b. Below these seats and concentric therewith are wheels h, the peripheries of which, preferably covered with rubber or some like material, for frictional contact, impinge, when the rods are inclined, against avertical wheel, 13. This wheel is adapted to be turned by hand, or may be turned in any convenient way, and. is pressed in against the edges of the wheels h by a spring on its horizontal axis, which is allowed some reciprocating endwise movement for that purpose. These wheels, through the center of which the rods b b pass, are provided with vertical rods k k, the upper ends of which are bent inward over the edge of the can, or, as an equivalent of this, are provided with a ring, or sections of a ring, to press against the upper edge of the can. These rods are threaded below, and may be adjusted in length in the wheel for different heights of can. We have also shown them as screwed into blocks Z, in slots as shown in Fig. 6, so as to be adjustable in and out for cans of different diameters. The hubs of the wheels hrest on the sleeves. Against them, on the upper side, bear spiral springs, the other ends of which bear against the under side of the seats of the cans. As the rods b slide freely in the sleeves, limited only by the rings and setscrews n, the effect of the spring in connection with the other parts is to force up the seat, and with it the can, until the upper end of the can bears against the inwardly-turned ends of the rods 70 la, or the rings thereon. The tension of the springs should be sufficient to force the parts closely and firmly together, and prevent the top or bottom from separating from the cylinder when the heat is applied.

The contact is also suificient to hold the rings, through the rods k k, and intervening can, to the seats, so that the rotation of the wheels h, when in contact with the wheel 73, shall serve to turn the cans. These clamping devices may be subject of various modifications, some of which are shown in Figs. 1, 2, 4., 5, and 6. These modificatious relate, also,

point on the rotating table.

todevices for lifting automatically or otherwise the clamps from the cams, so that they maybe removed by the attendant at another acts, except in the modification shown in Fig. 6, both to depress the wheel in and to raise the seat, it is obvious that the depression of the seat, and with it the can or the elevation of the wheel h, will loosen the can so that it can be removed by the attendant. accomplished in various ways. The most con- This can be venient we have found to be that. shown at o in Fig. 4. This is a camway, of any convenient length, which is located in the path of ..the rotating hubs of the wheels h, as shown clearly at o. The inclined end of the cam 0 lifts the hub of the wheel h, and with it the rods k k, and releases their hold on the upper end of the can. The same effect may be ac-.' complished by providing a flange on the seat,

1 as shown at 12, Fig. 5, when a depression, 12,

forces down the flange and the seat, and lowers the can from the clamps.

, Another modification is shown in Fig. 6, where the seat is made solid with the wheel h, and is recessed to admit of a transverse bar, g, on the upper end of the rod b, which, in this instance, passes down through the hub and seat, and may turn in them, and further, is held down by a spring between the collar n and another, at. The release is eifected in this instance by a cam, r,in the lower guideway, which lifts the rod 1), and with it the bar q and the rods 1c 7a. A hand or footapparatus is also provided, as shown at s, Fig. 6, for the attendant to operate at will. 'A spring-stop,

t, is placed under the wheel, as shown in Fig."

6, and made to'drop into a notch on the under side of the wheel, when the wheel h tips in its proper position opposite the attendant. It holds only enough to steady the apparatus in position; but not 'so much as to prevent the operator from moving the table at will.

This he accomplishes by taking hold of the handles a.

The camway, as well as the depressor, is fixed to the central standard by arms a: w and sleeves with set-screws.

In Figs. 1 and 4 we have shown a registering apparatus. sleeve fixedto the table, and gearing into a pinion, 3 on the standard, and throughsuitable gearing moves an index, y. B represents a stand on the top of the central standard for holding the heating apparatus.

The clamping deviceson the upper ends of rods k k may be variously modified, either by turning in the ends of the rods or by fixing on their ends a ring or segments of a ring, so as to bear on the edge of the can, and leave the center free for the operation of the soldering I As the spring It consists of a worm, g, on a The operation of the device is illustrated in respect to the soldering in Fig. 2, the position of the tool being there shown. The operator stands at the wheel t and applies the soldering-tool within the can, watching the operation on the outside as he turns the wheel. When the solder has been applied he removes the tool, gives the table another movement until the stop falls into another notch, when another can is in place. The curved lower camway immediately restores the can to upright position, and then it goes on over the camway 0, when the can is released, and the other attendant, who may be a boy, removes the soldered can and puts in place another.

We claim as our invention- 1. A machine for soldering cans, consisting of a moving table carrying can-holders, made to tip from and return to a perpendicular position, as set forth.

2. A machine for soldering cans, consisting of a moving table carrying can-holders, which tip from, and return to a perpendicular position, and which automatically hold and release the cans at proper times, as set forth.

3. The revolving table, in combination with tipping can-holders and automatic clamping and releasing devices, as set forth.

nected to the devices which hold the cans, and

tipping to come into contact with the wheel 2, p

as set forth. 6. The seat for the cans, in combination with the rods 12, the wheels h, and interposed spring, and with the rods k is rigidly attached to the wheel h, or to the bar q, as set forth.

7. The camway 0, in combination with the rotating seat, carried by the revolving table, as set forth.

8. The sleeves a pivoted in the table, in combination with the rods b, and can-holders, as set forth.

9. The stand B on the top of the standard of the revolving table, as set forth.

WILLIAM 1). BROOKS. RICHARD GORNALL.

Witnesses FRANK MGKENNY, M. OHURoH. 

